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Lyssea

Ask Lyssea - Good Morning, Lyssea

Lyssea awoke. It was not the slow, gradual awakening of last time, but more as if somepony had flipped a switch, making her go from deep sleep to wide awake in an instant.
It took her, however, a few seconds to remember where she was. As she did she felt very disappointed, as if she’d really been expecting something else to greet her.
That was not to say that she lay still, for a part of her was operating on autopilot. She pushed herself up to sitting and pressed her hooves to her face, taking her time to get disappointed, before she slid out of bed and down on all four, a sudden need to catch herself from falling face-first to the floor flaring up for a second, and then faded away as hooves reached the floor.
Then, without thinking, she turned herself back to the bed and reached out, her hoof trying to pick up something there. Finding that no little bunny had delivered it during her sleep her conscious mind was alerted, giving Lyssea a cold feeling.
Where was it? It was always at her bed! Had somepony stolen it? Where was her… her…
She stopped. Had somepony stolen her what? What had she expected to be at her bed? Several seconds passed, before she sighed in shame and lowered her hoof, still with a feeling of wrongness. She couldn’t remember what it was, why it was important, or why it was to be at her bed.
Another moment passed before she shook her head, forcing the thoughts of that from her head. She should focus at what mattered, not on strange feelings that lead nowhere. She closed her eyes and began to evaluate her actions from yesterday, with a fresh pair of eyes.
She took a few moments, but found herself agreeing with what had been done. She had acted as well as she could given the situation and what she knew - which was still disappointingly little. Slept had brought neither dreams nor memories of the past.
In the end she gave up, she had nothing new, be it information or ideas. Well, except one, but it was in no hurry to be executed - in fact a few days of wait would be better.
She turned towards the book, remained at the very top where she had pushed it last night. For a second she only watched it, before reaching out and opening it, both fearful and curious on what, if any, questions might had come during the night. She found only one.

“Where were they going… without ever knowing the way?”

She read the question. Then she read it again. And a third time. It still made no sense.
She looked up and towards the window, where only a hint of light showed that it was not yet dawn.
The first thought that came to her mind was that this a hint towards her, she was going somewhere without knowing the way, or if there even was one.
She quickly dismissed the thought, while it was possible, she did not find it likely unless someone or something knew what she was doing. So then what? Was it trying to give her a clue? A hint wrapped in a riddle? Or…
She thought about it for another moment, then sighed. Or the book was going philosophical on her. Philosophy, what a waste of time.
She picked the pen out from the spine and wrote down her answer beneath the question, a single word.

“Nowhere.”

She placed the pen on the page and then flipped the cover over, making it close once more, not even bothering to keep the pen where it should be. It would remain here in the evening too, there was no need.
Unless she would need to run.
The thought made her pause for a few moments, thinking about it, before she shook her head. No, if she had to run this would mean little difference, even if she was to take the time to place it back, as it would not take long to do when running, if it was even needed.
Another moment of hesitation, and she opened the book and picked out the pen, putting it back into the spine of the book. It couldn’t hurt.
Book once more closed, and pen put back in place, she stepped over to the door and out into the corridor outside. It was dark and unlit, although not entirely quiet as the snoring from somepony in the room just a few steps down echoed quietly between the walls.
She payed it no heed and headed for the stairs, though she did note that in one of the rooms, door wide open, lay Growing Seed with his eyes closed and sleeping quietly.
Getting down the stairs, and even to the door was done in silence, nopony noticing her at all and the only sounds being her own breath and hooves. When she reached her hoof for the door, however, Apple Branch appeared behind her, as if he had been summoned by tue door.
“Leaving already?” His words were not accusing and his voice carrying a friendly tone to it. Lyssea took little comfort from that, however, as his mere presence made her jump, her front hoof twitching to reach for her flank again, though she managed to stop it before she lost her balance. Instead she looked back, watching the old one for a moment before she spoke herself, voice neutral and almost emotionless.
“No. Going to stretch my legs. My book is in the room, I will not leave without it” She hadn’t been entirely aware that this was what she had been going to do, having acted mostly without thinking, but stating it made it clear for her as well as him. Branch nodded and smiled a bit, and as he spoke his voice had a slightly friendlier tone.
“That is good. We’ll shout when it is time for breakfast, if you are not back by then already” He waited for a second for a reply, a reply which never came in any form but a nod, and then headed for the dinnerroom and kitchen, to continue preparing food for the family and guest.
Lyssea, in turn, gave him no more attention after confirming that she had heard, instead turning around and opening the door, a chilly wall of air meeting her. Without hesitation she stepped into the darkness.
The air outside might be chilly, but it certainly was not properly cold, she would not need something to keep her warm, as long as she moved. And moving was what she had come here to do.
Without another thought she began to run in large circles around the house and yard, her movements slow and clumsy at first, as two instincts on how to gallop contradicted each other, but just a few laps and she had managed to find her rhythm.